Travis Dreams of Laurie
by Slambodog
Summary: A fun vignette based off a line from an early season one episode I think episode three or four . First wrote this after watching season one, so some of the jokes might not make sense any more. Travis/Laurie.
1. Travis

It all started with a joke, Laurie trying to prove a point about how all men lie. But why should I be punished for the way men have mistreated my mom and her friends? I've been nice to my mom, even though she tends to hover and smother too much. Even Mrs. Torres who finds it painful to be even the slightest hint of nice other than for seven minutes a day, I've been nice to her. But, Laurie, she's different. She's a tease and a flirt, and sometimes it's all I can do to stop from thinking about her. I thought I was subtle, that no one noticed anything. Maybe she didn't notice and it was just another one of her jokes, but who knows?

My mom was discussing with her friends about how all men raise the pitch of their voice when they lie, and Laurie said that she could prove it.

"Have you ever had a dirty dream about me, Travis?" Laurie asked with a flirty look in her eyes.

"You? Sick!" I lied, but my voice betrayed me and jumped about two octaves.

She danced triumphantly and flashed me the most mischievous grin.

Now, I can't sleep. I can't stop thinking about Laurie. Does she know the effect she has on me? Every time her arm brushes against mine or she tosses her hair, my heart skips a beat. Is this love? How can I be in love with my mom's friend? I'm closer in age to her than any member of the group is, but I'm only 18, and she's 27. It could never happen.

I lay in bed picturing every feature of her face. Her long, flowing blonde hair, like straw in a field. Her delicate eyes as blue as the sky on a summer day. Her perfect round ears and nose. Her red lips always threatening to turn into a smile, a smile that could cheer up the Grinch. Her chin that curves like a bell, always jutting out with pride, pride in just being who she is, never having to pretend for anyone. I picture all the beauty marks on her face and neck, trying to count them all. I get to about 15 before I fall asleep.

My sleep is restless, and I wake up several times throughout the night. Stupid Laurie, she's in all of my dreams. A surprise quiz in class, Laurie is the teacher. I go to the coffee shop, Laurie is the server. It is four in the morning, and Laurie is probably just getting home now from whatever club she went to with Vanessa. Or, perhaps, she is making some guy the luckiest man in the world.

Another dream about Laurie, this time she's in bed next to me.

"Hey, Trav, having another dirty dream about me?" she teases.

"I guess so. You've been in every dream I've had tonight."

"Oh, that's so sweet. Tell me, what usually happens in these dreams?"

"The first dream, you were my teacher at school, giving us a surprise quiz. All the questions were about you, your likes, your dislikes."

"I'm sure you got every question right."

"I'd hope so. The second dream, I was ordering coffee, and you were the server, but you wouldn't let me order unless I used those ridiculous names you have for all the drinks."

Laurie starts laughing hysterically. "That sounds like me. But, I want to know about your dirty dreams, Trav."

This is so embarrassing, and I will myself to wake up. Why couldn't this have just been a simple dream where I have sex with her and wake up short of breath? She had to ruin everything with her joke. At least, I hope it was a joke. I tried to be subtle about it, but I guess she always knew. I can only hope that my mom didn't suspect anything or that Laurie didn't say anything to her. That would be humiliating.

"Come on, tell me, Trav."

"Well, first, we take off each other's clothes, slowly, one item at a time."

"Oh this is boring, let's skip ahead." With that, she pulls the sheet of my bed, and she's as naked as a jaybird underneath. I instantly go rock hard, and her mischievous smile returns. "This time, show, don't tell."


	2. Ellie

Why did I have a kid? It was the stupidest thing I ever did, even though it is also the most wonderful. Stan woke me up at five this morning, so I woke up Andy to deal with him. It's too late for me to go back to sleep now, so I walk across the lawn to steal some coffee from Jules. Oddly, there's a light on in the kitchen. Jules doesn't come down until eight, and it's not even seven yet. Maybe she had another one of her boy toys over last night and wanted to get rid of him early. I open the door and find her new friend/coworker Laurie in the kitchen. I guess she had the same idea as I did. I think she's wearing the same clothes as she did when she left to go out last night. She must have spent the night at some stranger's house again.

"Have another crazy night yesterday, Jellybean, or did you just forget to change your clothes? Look, you're even only wearing one sock. What happened to you?"

"Aw, that's so sweet of you to notice. I guess you could say I had a bit of an adventure."

"Spent the night at another random guy's place?"

"I'm not so sure how random he was, but we had fun."

We both sit down to drink our coffee. At seven, Jules comes down, exactly an hour earlier than usual. I look up, surprised. She always comes down at eight, never early, unless she needs to get her date out of the house, but I didn't see anyone leave her house, and I've been awake since five.

"Jules, you're early today."

"No, I'm not. It's 8 o'clock, exactly."

"Jules, did you forget to set the clocks back last night?"

"Crap, I thought that was next week. Well, now that we have an extra hour, I need to talk to Laurie about something."

Jules looks at me, expecting me to leave, but that's not going to happen. I've had my coffee, so I can't fall asleep, and no way am I spending an extra hour in a house that contains Andy and a crying baby.

"Fine, Ellie, you can stay, but just be quiet."

"I hope this isn't going to take a whole hour," Laurie says smartly.

"Laurie, I want you to stop teasing Travis. I think he had another dream about you last night."

"Aw, that's so sweet."

"No! It's NOT sweet. I woke up to him screaming your name this morning, and then he made a high pitched yelling sound. It's really disturbing, and, no, it's not cute."

"I can't help it, I'm a flirt, and he's such a cute kid."

"No argument there. Just tone it down a bit, okay? He's young and vulnerable, and I don't need him falling in love with you and getting his heart broken. It'll really mess up his relationships with women in the future."

I can't help myself. "You don't need to worry about that. I'm sure your smothering and hovering will do that."

Before Jules can respond, Travis walks down the stairs. He comes in the kitchen and drops a sock in her wine glass. "Mom, please stop leaving your socks in the hall. This was right outside my door, and I almost tripped on it."

As Jules takes the sock upstairs and Travis goes to get ready for school, I notice that Laurie is starting to blush, and it all clicks.

"Jellybean, that was your sock, wasn't it? Travis was the guy you were with last night, wasn't he?"

"Please don't tell Jules about it, she'd kill me. Please, Ellie."

"I have to tell her about it, she's my best friend. It would be like lying to her."

"Ellie, didn't you say that friendship was about having so much dirt on the other person that they could never tell your secrets?"

"I did."

"Well, what could be a juicier secret than this?"

"Jules would probably kill you, so I guess it'll do."

"We've never been that close, really only friends through Jules. Maybe this will actually bring us closer together."

"I guess so, I've been keeping you at arm's length until I had some good dirt on you, and now I have some great dirt."

"Yeah, this will be fun."

"Not as much fun as you seem to have had last night. Tell me all about it, and don't leave out a single detail."


End file.
